In such a process, pattern clusters of wax or a similar material are provided with a solid ceramic layer with a thickness of a few millimeters by applying several dip coats. The individual layers, after having been applied, are dried or hardened separately. On each individual wet dip coat a coarse, refractory powder or sand is scattered as a binding agent for the following dip coat. Following dewaxing the shells are fired and can then be used for casting whilst still hot or after cooling down.
Processes of the type described above which use aqueous binders are limited in their use in that, contrary to alcoholic binders, aqueous binders require a very extended drying process and, ultimately, had to be subjected to suitable vacuum drying to obtain complete dryness. It has been tried to overcome these problems by mixing alcohol, e.g. isopropanol, into the aqueous binder. The alcohol replaced part of the water and had the characteristic feature to evaporate quicker than water. However, the water alcohol mixture was unable to prevent, during the subsequent dipping operations, the water/alcohol mixture from penetrating again into the previously applied and already dried coat, so that with progressive dipping ever increasing drying times were required. Other methods were also tried to solve the pertinent problems.
From the U.S. Pat. No. 3,005,244 it is known to add to a 30% aqueous silica sol binder with a quantity of resinous polymers so that the solid content of the resulting binder consists of 60 to 80% by weight of SiO.sub.2 and 8 to 35% by weight of resinous polymer. Ceramic shells which are produced with this binder have, among other things due to the addition of the polymers, an increased green strength of the shell which is said to permit fusion of the wax from the shell without the intermediate use of an autoclave.
The U.S. Pat. No. 3,126,597 describes a ceramic shell with an aqueous binder based on silicic acid (30% by weight), to which water is added for dilution and to which sodium fluoride is added for accelerating the sol/gel reaction. The sodium fluoride leads merely to a quicker hardening of the individual ceramic layers applied but does not prevent penetration of the aqueous binder into the previously applied ceramic layers during the subsequent dipping operations. This binder combination requires long drying times and, in the case of shells with a higher number of layers, ultimately vacuum drying.
The U.S. Pat. No. 3,165,799 describes a triple dipping process for the manufacture of a ceramic shell for multiple-core investment castings in which the first ceramic dip layer is applied with an aqueous binder with subsequent sanding. Following this, a second ceramic dip layer with aqueous binder, to which 0.5 to 2% by weight of polyvinylalcohol has been added, is applied without sanding or stuccoing. Thereafter, a third ceramic dip layer with aqueous SiO.sub.2 binder with 0.5 to 2% by weight of polyvinyl alcohol is applied under vacuum with finish sanding or stuccoing. The aforementioned dipping sequence has the advantage of permitting the manufacture of investment castings with core parts which can otherwise only be manufactured with ceramic cores.
From the U.S. Pat. No. 3,752,689 the manufacture of a ceramic shell by a rapid process with an aqueous binder with 26.4% by weight of SiO.sub.2 and 4.2% by weight of Al.sub.2 0.sub.3 is known, with the aforementioned binder being converted from the sol state into the gel state by respectively organic and inorganic bases. This process permits applying the individual ceramic layers relatively quickly but has the disadvantage that each ceramic layer is infiltrated by the aqueous binder subsequently applied layer, and that lengthy final drying, including vacuum drying, has to be performed.
The idea is to discharge the acid SiO.sub.2 /Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 sol which is positively charged, by negatively charged particles of organic and inorganic bases.
The U.S. Pat. No. 3,859,153 also describes a rapid process for the manufacture of a ceramic shell in which an aqueous binder with negatively charged colloidal particles is discharged, and thus hardened, by an aqueous sol with positively charged colloidal particles. This process, too, also permits quickly applying the individual ceramic layers but has the disadvantage that the discharge of the negatively charged sol by the positively charged sol applied may already take place in the immersion tank. Another disadvantage of this process is that the shell manufactured by it has to be subjected to a respectively long final drying process. Still another disadvantage is that as a result of the repeated infiltration during dipping with an aqueous binder, the shells become so heavy that there is the risk of breakage. Subsequent vacuum drying is indispensable for economic reasons.
The U.S. Pat. No. 3,894,572 describes a manufacturing process for a ceramic shell with a positively charged aqueous binder which is hardened by the sanding material which contains negatively charged colloidal particles. The disadvantage are the same as those described for the aforementioned two rapid processes.
The U.S. Pat. No. 3,933,190 describes a process for the manufacture of a pure Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 shell for directional solidification. The ceramic shell is prepared with 15 to 25 parts of an aqueous solution which contains 15% by weight of aluminum polyoxychlorid, 6 to 10 parts of water and 8 to 14 parts of latex. To this fluid Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 powder is added as a filler. For pH control of the binder, 0.5 to 1.5 parts of a 2% aqueous HLC solution are added. In this case the function of the latex added is to increase the green strength of the ceramic layers applied. All disadvantages described for the rapid process are relevant in the case of this shell, too.